Our View: A toast to Swansea's water desalination plant

Monday

Mar 24, 2014 at 6:00 PM

Sometimes it takes time and perseverance to move an “outside-of-the-box” idea forward. But that perseverance has paid off in Swansea, where — after a decade-long struggle — the town’s desalination plant is up and running, pumping purified water from the Palmer River into Swansea’s homes and businesses.

Sometimes it takes time and perseverance to move an “outside-of-the-box” idea forward. But that perseverance has paid off in Swansea, where — after a decade-long struggle — the town’s desalination plant is up and running, pumping purified water from the Palmer River into Swansea’s homes and businesses.

While the desalination plant may have opened with little fanfare locally, the world has taken notice of Swansea’s innovative idea. The Swansea Water District is on the “short list” for the 2014 Global Water Award from Global Water Intelligence as Desalination Plant of the Year. Swansea Water Superintendent and Selectman Robert Marquis — who was the major force pushing the project forward — said he had been contacted about the nomination for the unsolicited award “and I expect to win.”

The idea for the desalination plant — which removes up to 4 million gallons of saltwater from Palmer River water and converts it into 2.2 million gallons of drinking water — was born in response to the town’s depleted groundwater supply that had plagued Swansea since the 1980s.

For years, water shortages, water bans and rations were a nuisance and a hindrance to Swansea’s growth. In 1999, the situation reached a crisis point when 30 percent of the population in the eastern part of town was left without water.

The town explored options for solving its water woes, including purchasing water from Fall River or from a private desalination plant, but they were not feasible. The desal plant was seen as the only option.

While the large-scale desalination plants are common in places like Dubai, Israel and Singapore — the other desalination plants competing for the award — Global Water Intelligence noted, “Municipal desalination is nearly unheard of in rural Massachusetts.”

In 2004, Swansea voters bought into the innovative idea to study building the plant for $20 million and ground was broken on the Vinnicum Road project in 2007. But the plant faced numerous hurdles from state regulators and political officials, as well as logistical barriers.

Eventually all the political and logistical hurdles were cleared and the pipelines were installed across Interstate 195. It’s never easy being first, but Swansea’s efforts should help create a smoother process for future desal plants in Massachusetts.

Swansea’s investment should pay off as the town’s neighbors, including Bristol County, R.I., continue to struggle with frequent water shortages. It is possible neighboring communities will tie into the plant, potentially a source of future revenue. Meanwhile, the purified water filters contaminants, preventing health problems that can be associated with pharmaceuticals entering the water supply.

This innovative solution to solving Swansea’s longstanding water woes is worthy of the recognition it has received on a global scale. Regardless of whether Marquis brings home the Global Water Award from Paris, the Swansea desalination plant deserves a toast from folks closer to home.